Board holds tuition hearing
Archived article from May 12, 2003
By Carla Cantor
The Rutgers Board of Governors held a hearing April 29 at which students, faculty and administrators shared their views on tuition and expressed their concerns about the impact of the proposed budget cuts on the university.
"This hearing is not just about a financial decision but about building the kind of educational institution that our students deserve and that New Jersey needs," said Anne M. Thomas, chair of the board's educational planning and policy committee, who co-chaired the forum with Dean J. Paranicas, chair of the board's budget and finance committee.
"Tuition is one of the most important decisions the board makes each year," Paranicas said. "The board remains committed to maintaining access, and any tuition increase will be coupled with institutional financial aid to help needy students. But we also know," he added, "that students want better services, more classes and improved facilities."
While the board of governors cannot set tuition for next year until the state budget is finalized at the end of June, the forum was designed to involve the university community in the decision- making process and give university officials the opportunity to highlight the difficult choices that lie ahead.
At the meeting, Nancy Winterbauer, vice president for university budgeting, outlined the financial situation facing the university. She said that Gov. McGreevey's proposed $39.4 million cut in state appropriations, coupled with unavoidable increases of nearly $12 million for services such as financial aid and insurance, means the university faces a total shortfall of more than $51 million.
In discussing ways to cover the deficit, Winterbauer presented three hypothetical plans for next year's budget, representing a wide range of possibilities. None of the three budget models, she emphasized, are actually being considered by the board. Under the first of two "extreme" scenarios, Rutgers would cover the entire shortfall through campus budget reductions, eliminating 570 full-time faculty, staff and teaching assistant positions, 3,000 course sections and $18 million in nonsalary spending, while cutting enrollment. If, on the other hand, the university were to absorb the entire deficit by raising tuition with no layoffs or program cuts, undergraduate costs would rise 18 percent, Winterbauer said.
Describing both options as "unreasonable," Winterbauer offered a third scenario: persuading lawmakers to restore at least $20 million in funding. "The answer is reasonable tuition increases and reasonable restorations" in state funding, Winterbauer said. Under this plan, Rutgers would raise tuition 9 percent and avoid cuts to programs and campus services.
All of the models presuppose no enrollment increases, no programmatic or service improvements and no salary increases. Union contracts are set to expire at the end of June, and if increases are negotiated, they will need to be incorporated into the final budget. Any increases will add to the problems, since the proposed state budget does not provide any funding for salary increases at the public colleges, Winterbauer said.
President Richard L. McCormick told the audience that the university's first priority is to try to restore funds to Rutgers' core programs and then "some tough decisions would follow." McCormick reiterated the importance of maintaining the academic quality that will propel Rutgers into the ranks of the best public research universities in the nation. "It would, above all, be our students who would feel the impact of these cuts," he said.
Nearly two dozen faculty and students spoke during the two-hour hearing, urging board members to ensure the strong academic future of Rutgers.
Holly Smith, executive dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences–New Brunswick, cautioned that increased use of adjunct faculty and fewer teaching assistants could undermine a Rutgers education. She expressed concern about attempts by other universities to attract Rutgers faculty. "This year alone FAS has dealt with 23 raids from pre-eminent universities," Smith said. Adequate funding, she said, is needed to ensure that the university can offer competitive salaries to its distinguished faculty.
Barbara Lee, dean of the School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR), said that because of prior budget cuts SMLR has no state funds for operating purposes. "All our state funds are invested in faculty and staff salaries," Lee said, "so budget cuts mean cutting people, not paper clips." She pointed out that SMLR is ranked among the top five labor relations schools in the nation. "We made it — we arrived at the top," Lee said.
"But staying on top requires resources, an investment by the state and by the university in our continued success.'‘
Four Rutgers students recruited through the Outstanding Scholars Recruitment Program (OSRP) — a program slated to be phased out under Gov. McGreevey's proposal — stressed the importance of continuing the program, which encourages the brightest high school students to stay in state. Nakul Raykar, for instance, a first-year OSRP engineering student, said a full scholarship played a large part in why he accepted Rutgers over Dartmouth or Cornell.
Senior Matthew Kleiman, former president of the Rutgers College Governing Association, proposed a " fair tuition tax," which would raise tuition slightly more for students who could afford it to enable the neediest students to continue at Rutgers. Kleiman urged the university community to redouble its effort to restore funding. "It is frustrating to read about the restoration of funds to the arts but not higher education," he said. "Whatever we're doing, it has not been enough."
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